This invention relates to a method and apparatus for the manufacture of bags, wherein a hose made of sealable foil material is cyclically withdrawn from a forming tube of rectangular cross section to an extent corresponding to the length of the bag, then the withdrawn hose portion is spread apart at one location and is provided with a transverse seam for forming the bag bottom in such a manner that the bottom runs into ears extending from the narrow sides of the hose. Subsequently, the hose portion drawn from the forming tube is severed to obtain an individual bag. An apparatus for automatically performing the above-outlined method is disclosed in Swiss Pat. No. 542,701. For the purpose of drawing the hose each time by a bag length from the forming tube, according to this patent there are formed small folds in the hose at the lower ends of the two wide sides of the hose along the edge of the bag bottom. These small folds are grasped by a dual clamp. These edge folds give the bottom, and thus the entire bag, a highly desirable form stability. Such edge folds, however, also have disadvantages. If bags manufactured in the above-outlined manner are, subsequent to their filling with the goods, closed vacuum-tight, frequently the vacuum in the bag cannot be maintained for a sufficiently long period. It was found that this drawback is caused by very small, often invisible ruptures or punctures in the foil material. These damages may be caused during the formation of the edge folds or when they are grasped by the dual clamp. It is a further disadvantage of the edge folds that complex mechanisms are needed for forming the same.